Automatic take-off and trap for a sawing machine



May 9, 1933. A. D. OSBORN ET AL AUTOMATIC TAKE-OFF AND TRAP FOR A SAWINGMACHINE Filed July 25, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Attorney 5 m mm aw m 0 AS.2 mm, mu NW v Q Q Qw N Q aw R 1 kw \N TI NQ uh m 3 fi ,u. Q K :2 Q Q JI Y \m. 80 x Q 9% a Y N V U\.\ ooooooo T %e 0000 0000000 1 .Mm o o o oo%oMMMM y 1933- A. D. OSBORN ET 1. 1,907,564

AUTOMATIC TAKE-OFF AND TRAP FOR A SAWING MACHINE Filed July 25, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Samuel M Taylor ow fix Auomeys Patented May 9, 1933UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT D. OSBORN AND SAIYIUEL IVI. TAYLOR,OF LOYALTON, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS T SMOOTH SAW EQUIPMENT COMPANY, GELOYALTON, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORA- TION OF NEVADA AUTOMATIC TAKE-OFF ANDTEA FOR A SAWING MACHINE Application filed July 25,

sawing machines commonly called cutoffs.

The man'that runs the machine is known as a cutoff man and his duty isto cut and grade the lumber to different lengths.

There is another person employed on this machine called the swamper,whose duty it is to take away and sort the different lengths of cuts,and to keep-the table clear of blocks or short trims, as the cutofi' mancuts them.

It is a fact that the cutoff man can out no 2e faster than the swampercan take the cuts away from the saw, because the cuts will overlap eachother if they are not taken away as fast as they are cut. If the cutsare allowed to overlap, there is great danger of one of 525 the cutsgetting on the back of the saw, in

which case the saw will throw the piece of wood back with such forcethat great bodily injury is often suffered by the person being struckwith the piece thus thrown. There ...au have been many deaths causedfrom such accidents; therefore, a cutolf man can not cut any faster thanthe swamper will take the pieces away from the saw.

Also, the cutoff man must be very careful 2.5 not to bump or knock theswampers hand as he reaches for each cut, otherwise the swampers handmay be forced into contact with the saw resulting in the loss of fingersor the hand. It is especially dangerous when the e swamper is reachingfor a small block or trim, which may be only an inch or so long, makingit necessary for the swampers hand to be .very close to the saw.

It is also common for the cutoff man and the swamper to talk to eachother, thus increasing the risk to themselves, and causing a great timeloss to their employer. It is an object of this invention to separatethe men to such a distance that they can not talk 59 to eachother, andto provide an automatic 1932. Serial no. sea-53o.

take-off means which will act to instantly lengths, thus allowing theswampe-r to devote his entire time to sorting the cuts.

A further object is to provide an automatic takeoff for a sawing orcutoff machine which will automatically remove the cuts clear of themachine as rapidly as produced, so that the cutoff man may devote hisentire time and attention to grading and cutting and need not giveattention to the swamper, thus eliminating any chance of accident. I

In actual operation, this invention has in.- creased the amount oflumber cut by more than 20% and has enabled the cutoff man to out bettergrades as his attention is never distracted from his work. 7

A further object is to provide an automatic take-off device which may bemounted upon a standard sawing or cutoff machine.

A further object is toprovide an automatic takeoff device with anendlessbelt conveyer means having the upper run thereof positioned in a planeslightly below that of the carriage and having means for elevating thelower run of the endless belt over the saw driving means.

A further object is to provide a trap means which may be adjusted tosort out any predetermined lengths of trim.

A further object is to provide a trap which is pivotally mounted uponthe machine and yieldingly retained at a predetermined height by asuitable springmeans.

A further object of this invention is to provide means for mounting theautomatic takeoff and trap means upon the'fra-me of the cutoff machine,whereby these means may be easily removed therefrom.

ther objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as thenature of the same is more fully understood from the followingdescription and drawings, wherein is set'forth what is now considered tobe apreferred embodiment. It should be understood, however, that thisparticular embodiment of the invention is chosen'priir cipally for thepurpose of exemplification and that variations therefrom in details ofconstruction or arrangement of the parts may accordingly be effected andyet remain within the spirit and scope of the invention as the same isset forth in the appended claims. 7 r

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a' plan View of a sawing or cutoff machine illustrating theinvention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along thelines 33 of Figure 1;

V Figure 4 is a fragmental View illustrating the trap mounting and alsothe means for tightening the endless belt conveyer.

Figure 5 illustrates the automatic take-off means swung to averticalposition to expose the drive mechanism of the saw.

I A preferred construction of our invention as disclosed in the drawingsmay include a common form of sawing or cutoff machine 1 having asuitable frame 2 upon which is movably mounted a carriage 3. Thecarriage may be movably mounted upon the frame as by means of a wheel 4mounted upon each end of the axles 5, which axles are mounted injournals 6 secured to the cross beam 7 of the carriage. Frame 2 isprovided w1th cross beams 8 upon which are mounted suitable rails 9along which rails the wheels 4 roll. By this arrangement, the carriagemay be easily moved back and forth across the saw frame. Adjacent oneend of the carriage is operatively mounted a circular saw 10 by means ofmandrel 11 journaled in bearings 12 mounted upon a raised portion 13 offrame 2. Any suitable means may be provided for driving the saw such aspulley 14 suitably keyed upon the mandrel 11, belt 15 and an electricmotor 16 provided with a drive pulley17 over which belt 15 runs. Asabove stated the sawing or cutoff machine is of common form which is ingeneral use and therefore no claimfor this type of machine is madeherein. I

An automatic takeoff 18 may be mounted upon the raised portion 13 of thesawing'machine or the frame 2 of the sawing'machine may be arranged todirectly support the takeoff means. In those cases where the takeoffmeans 18 is mounted upon frame 2, it is preferable to mount the takeoffso that it may be'readily swung or lifted out of its normal position toa position as illustrated in Fig. 5 in order that the drive means forthe saw and other parts of the cutoff machine may be readily accessible.

' As illustrated in the drawings one suitable means for mounting thetakeofl upon the sawing machine frame isby means of hinges 19 pivotallyconnecting one side of the takeoff with frame 2 whereby the takeoff maybe Figure 5.

swung or lifted to the position illustrated in To normally retain thetakeoff in its operative position as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 anysuitable latch means may be provided or as illustrated clearly inFigures 1 and 5, two slotted brackets 20 may be suitably secured to theside of the take-off opposite to the hinged side and a stud or bolt 21may be mounted in frame 2 in position to engage the slots of saidbrackets whereby by means of nuts 22 the brackets and thereby thetake-off will be securely fastened to the frame of the sawing machine.

The automatic take-off is mounted upon the sawing machine so that thereceiving end thereof is adjacent the cutoff side of the saw, namely,that side of the saw from which the cut boards leave and arranged sothat the top surface of the take-off may be in a plane slightly belowthe plane of the carriage in order that the take-off will not-interferewith the board during the sawing operation.

The automatic take-off may include a frame -Scomprising side rails 24and cross members 25 and a suitable takeoff conveyer 26 preferably ofthe endless belt type. The take-off conveyer 26 may be operativelymounted in frame 23' by means of a roller 27 positioned adjacent thecutoff side of saw 10 and journaled upon a suitable shaft 28 extendingbetween the side rail 24 and'by means of a driven roller 28 spaced fromroller 27.

The driven roller 28 is suitably keyed upon the drive shaft 29 and eachend of shaft 29 is journaled in a bearing 30 slidably mounted in eachside rail 24. The drive shaft 29 is extended and suitably keyed thereonis the pulley 31 which may be driven by a suitable means such as by themotor 32 and belt 33. The upper run of the take-off conveyer travels ina direction away from the saw'to take the cuts away from the saw asrapidly as cut. The lower run of the take-off conveyer in some casesmust be elevated over the drive pulley 14 and belt 15 of the saw and forthis purpose the auxiliary rollers 34 are operatively mounted upon theside rails 24 and positiond to lift the lower run of thetakeoff conveyerclear of the saw drive means. Means may be provided for tightening thetake-off conveyer which means may include a slotted bracket 35adjustably bolted to each side rail 24 by means of bolts 36, while-theflanged end 37 of each bracket isprovided with a jack screw 38. A looknut- 39 may be provided for locking the jack screw in adjusted position.The jack'screws 38 abut against slidable bearings 30 to retain thebearings in adjusted position. A quick adjustment of the conveyer may beaccomplished by loosening the bolts 36 and sliding the slotted brackets35 until the jack screws engage their respective bearings whereupon thebolts are tightened to lock the. brackets.

cut.

If the conveyer requires further tightening the jack screws may beoperated to force the drive roller further from the roller 27 and lockedin adjusted position by lock nuts The take-off may be provided with atrap means for segregating or sorting out the waste ends or trims fromthe cuts. This trap means may include a trap frame 40 pivot-ally andslidably mounted upon each side rail 24, and a spring means 41 foryieldingly retaining the trap in operative position. Any suitable meansmay be provided for so mounting the trap frame but we prefer to provideeach side of the trap frame with an elongated slot 42 through whichextendsapivotbolt The pivot bolt 43 does not actto tightly clamp thetrap frame to the side rails but acts'to permit the trap frame to freelyslide and pivot thereabout. To prevent the trap frame from pivoting dueto the action of spring 41 beyond a predetermining point a stop means 44may be suitably mounted upon each side rail 24. It is desirable toregulate the size of the trap, that is, the distance between thedischarge end of the take-off conveyer and the cross bar 45 of the trapframe, so as to regulate the size of waste blocks or trims which are tobe sorted from the run of cuts and for this purpose each side rail 40may be provided with a series of adjusting holes 46 into any one ofwhich a stop screw 47 may be screwthreaded. The action of springv 41acts to yieldingly hold the trap frame against'the stop screws 47. Insome cases, it is desirable to provide the cross bar 45 with ananti-friction trap roller 48 and in which case the take-off conveyerwill ride smoothly on to and overthe trap roller 48.

If desired the pivot bolts 43 may be tightened to firmly lock the trapframe to theside' rails 24 but we prefer to leave the pivot bolts looseenough to permit the trap frame to pivot or slide about the pivot boltand yieldingly retained against the stops 44 and 47 by the spring 41.

In operation, the cutoff man places the board such as 50 upon thecarriage 3 and gauges the length of cut by suitable stops such as thestop means 51 adjustably mounted upon the gauging table 52, and thenmoves the carriage to feedthe board into-the saw 10 whereupon the cut 53is severed fromthe board. Upon completion of the severing operation thecarriage is returned to its initial position and the board gauged foranother As soon as the cut is severed from the board the take-offconveyer immediately transfers the cut to the receivingtable 54 wherethe swamperreceivesand sorts the cuts according to length. Y

Where the endof the board is defective or where a knotted sectionof theboard is to be eliminated the cuto-fi man will saw off a short sectionof the board to trim off such defective sections and as these wastesections or trims are'taken away from the saw by the take-off conveyerthey are automatically sorted out by the trapwhich permits these wastetrims to fall between the discharge end of the takeoff conveyer and thetrap roller 48. V

In Figure 3, a piece of waste trim 55 is illustrated as being sorted outby the trap and by means of chute 56 may be carried to any suitablewaste bin or pile. By so automatically sorting the trims from the cutsthe swamper may devote his entire time to the sorting and piling of thecuts in accordance to length. v

The takeoff conveyer removes the swamper to a safe distance from the sawand rapidly and automatically removes the cuts and trims from thevicinity of the rotating saw so that the swamper need never have hishands close enough to the saw, to get out so that the swampers duty ismade relatively safe where before the swamper was alwa s in danger ofserious accident. Also, t e swamper is removed far enough from thecutoff man so that they can not conveniently talk to each other thusmaterially increasing their efficiency, and as each can thus devote hisentire time to their respective duties the possibility of an accident ispractically eliminated. V

Having fully described the invention, it is to be understood that it isnot to be limited to the details herein set forth but the invention isof the full scope of the appended claims.

cular saw operatively mountedupon one end of said mandrel, a drive meansfor the mandrel, a takeoff conveyer mounted upon said frame over andtraveling in the same direction as the axis of said mandrel and arrangedso that the'receiving end of the conveyer registerswith-at least part ofthe face ofthe saw and parallel to one face thereof, and a drive meansfor operating the conveyer, 2. A sawing machine including a frame,

a saw mandrel journaled upon the frame, a

circular saw operatively mounted upon one end of said mandrel, a drivepulley mounted upon said mandrel, a takeoff conveyer mounted upon saidframe directly over and extending in the same direction as the axis ofsaid mandrel, means for elevating the lower run of the conveyer over thesaw mandrel drive pulley, and a drive means for operating the conveyer.7 p 4 Y 3. A sawing machine including a frame, a saw mandrel journaledupon the frame, a

circular saw operatively mounted upon one:3

end of said mandrel, a drive means for the saw mandrel, a takeoflconveyer mounted upon said frame over and traveling in the samedirection as the axis'of said mandrel and arranged so that the receivingend of the conveyer registers with at least part of the face of the sawand parallel to one face thereof, a drive means for operating theconveyer, and a carriage mounted to travel upon said frame parallel andin close proximity to the other face of saidsaw.

- 4. A. sawing machine including a frame, a saw mandrel journaled uponthe frame, a circular saw operatively mounted upon one end of saidmandrel, a drive means for the saw mandrel, a carriage mounted to travelupon said frame parallel and in close proximity to one face of the saw,a takeoff conveyer mounted upon said frame over and traveling in thesame direction as the axis of the mandrel and arranged so that thereceiving end of the conveyer registers with at least part of the faceof the saw and parallel to the other face thereof, said takeofi conveyerhaving the upper run operating in plane slightly below the plane of thetop surface of said carriage, means for elevating the lower run of theconveyer over the sawmandrel drive means, and a drive means foroperating the conveyer.

5. A sawing machine including a frame, a saw mandrel journaled upon theframe, a

circular saw operatively mounted upon one end of the mandrel, a drivemeans for the mandrel, a takeoff conveyer mounted upon said frame overand traveling in the same direction as the axis of the mandrel andarranged so that the receiving end of the conveyer registers with atleast part of the face of the saw and parallel to one face thereof, adrive means for operating the conveyer, and a trap means mounted uponsaid frame and spaced a predetermined distance from the discharge end ofsaid conveyer.

6. An automatic takeoff and trap for a sawing machine including a frame,a takeoff conveyer operatively mounted insaid frame, a trap mounteduponsaid frame and having an engaging surface spaced from andsubstantially coincident with' the plane of the upper surface of saidconveyer, a hinge means for mounting said frame to the sawing machine,andmeans for locking said frame tosaid machine. 7

7:An automatic takeoff and trap for a sawing machine including a mainframe adapted'to be mounted upon the sawing machine, a takeoff conveyeroperatively mounted in said main frame and having its receiv- 'ing endad acent the sawof sa1d machine,

means for driving said conveyer, a trap frame slidably mounted upon saidmain frame and havingan engaging surface substantially coincident withthe plane of the upper surface of said conveyer, a stop means adapted tobe mounted upon the sawing machine, a takeoff conveyer operativelymounted in said frame and havingits receiving endadjacent the saw ofsaid machine, means for. driving said conveyer, a trap framepivotaly-mounted upon said main frame and having an engaging surfacesubstantially coincident with the plane of the upper surface of saidconveyer, a stop means mounted upon said main frame and positioned to beengaged by'said trap frame for limiting the height to which the engagingsurface of said trap frame maybe elevated, and means for yieldin'glyurging the trap frame against said stop means. 7 i

9. An automatic takeoff and trap for a sawing machine including a mainframe adapted to be mounted upon the sawing machine, a takeoff conveyeroperatively mounted in said main frame and having its receiving'endadjacent the saw of said machine, means for driving said conveyer, atrap frame pivotally and. slidably mounted upon saidmain frame andhaving an engaging surface substantially coincident with the plane ofthe upper surface of said conveyer, a stop means mounted upon said mainframe and positioned to be engaged by said trap frame for limiting theheight to which the engaging surface of said trap frame may be elevated.a second stop means mounted upon said main frame and positioned to beengaged by said trap frame forpredetermining the distance between thetrap frame engaging surface and the discharge end of said conveyer. andmeans for yieldingly urging the trap frame against said stops.

10. An automatic takeoff and trap for a sawing machine including a mainframe adapted to lee-mounted upon the sawing 'machine, a takeoffconveyer operatively mounted in said main frame and having its receivingend adjacent the saw of said machine, means for driving said conveyer, atrap frame slidably mounted upon said main frame, a trap rollerjournaled upon sald trap frame,

sawing machine including a main frame adapted to be mounted upon thesawing machine, a takeoff conveyer operatively mounted in said mainframe and having its receiving end adjacent the saw of said machine,means for driving said conveyer, a trap frame pivotally mounted uponsaid main frame, a trap roller journaled upon said trap frame, a trapframe stop means mounted upon said main frame for limiting the height towhich said trap roller may be elevated, and a spring means foryieldingly urging the trap frame against said stop.

12-. An automatic takeoff and trap for a sawing machine including a mainframe adapted to be mounted upon the sawing machine, a takeoff conveyeroperatively mounted in said main frame and having its receiving endadjacent the saw of said machine, means for driving said conveyer, atrap frame pivotally and slidably mounted upon said main frame, a traproller journaled upon said trap frame, a stop means mounted upon saidmain frame and positioned to be engaged by said trap frame for limitingthe height to which said trap roller may be elevated, a second stopmeans mounted upon said main frame and positioned to be engaged by saidtrap frame for predetermining the distance between the trap roller andthe discharge end of said conveyer, and a spring means for yieldinglyurging the trap frame against said stops.

13. A sawing machine including frame, a saw opera-tively mountedtherein, a drive means for said saw, a carriage, an endless belt takeoffconveyer mounted upon said frame with one end adjacent the takeoff sideof the saw and having the upper run of the conveyer slightly below thetop surface of said carriage, means for elevating the lower run of saidconveyer over said saw drive means, means for driving said conveyer, atrap frame pivotally and slidably mounted upon said frame and having anengaging surface substantially coincident with the plane of the uppersurface of said conveyer, a stop means mounted upon said frame andpositioned to be engaged by said trap frame for limiting the height towhich the engaging surface of said trap frame may be elevated, a secondstop means mounted upon said frame and positioned to be engaged by saidtrap frame for predetermining the distance between the trap frameengaging surface and the discharge end of said conveyer, and means foryieldingly urging the trap frame against said stops.

Signed at Loyalton, California this 11 day of July, 1932.

ALBERT D. OSBOR'N. SAMUEL M. TAYLOR.

